An anonymous donation of two airplanes to Battleship Memorial Park in Mobile, Alabama, turned out to be from late singer Jimmy Buffett.
Buffett, who passed away on September 1 from a rare skin cancer, donated the Grumman Goose and the Boeing Stearman in 2022 to the park, WSFA reported. The Grumman Goose was used in anti-submarine warfare patrol in the Royal Canadian Air Force in 1940, and the Boeing Stearman was used in a music video for his song “A Trip Around the Sun.”
The Grumman Goose and Stearman are both on display in the Medal of Honor Aircraft Pavilion. (Instagram/USS Alabama)
Now in front of the two planes stands a memorial display to Buffett which includes one of his iconic Hawaiian shirts on display.
The Grumman Goose and Stearman are both on display in the Medal of Honor Aircraft Pavilion. Visitors will see a wreath and an iconic Hawaiian-styled shirt that has been placed by the Grumman Goose in honor of Buffett. (Instagram/USS Alabama)
Tiffany and Robert Bell, A veteran couple visiting the display, consider themselves huge “Parrotheads” — the nickname coined for Jimmy Buffett fans. They are such big fans that they actually live in a Margaritaville-style residential community in Panama City Beach, Florida
“His music was a lifestyle and just a vibe of when you wanted to just go on vacation — he was the epitome of permanent vacation,” Tiffany told WSFA. “It was also a neat surprise to see that Jimmy Buffett had donated the two planes, being just a stand-up guy all around,” added Tiffany.
Jimmy Buffett arrives at the Opening Night of The Jimmy Buffett Musical “Escape To Margaritaville” on Broadway at The Marquis Theatre on March 15, 2018 in New York City. (Bruce Glikas/Bruce Glikas/FilmMagic)
The late singer’s love for flying stemmed from a college friend who was a pilot, according to Buffett World. It then became Buffett’s goal to receive his private pilot’s license by his 40th birthday, and he accomplished that a year before and purchased a Lake Renegade. Eventually, Buffett received his commercial pilot’s license.
Buffett left his mark in the flying community. In December 2009, Palm Beach International airport named the aviation departure procedure for all planes heading south to be the BUFIT One Departure.
“The first thing that came to my mind was, ‘What would Orville and Wilbur Wright think about all this,’” Buffett said. “I am honored to be a departure from Palm Beach. I hope it is a path that takes many pilots and passengers on magical voyages.”